The one who survived
by kaezen -DNA
Summary: Myrche and Ritz realize that someone else has entered the world of Ivalice. Whoever this person is, she has experienced more than they can imagine. So much, she is no longer completly whole... FIRST FIC! plz R&R, pairings/lemons TBA. I DON"T OWN THIS GAME
1. The Ice and the Mage

Hello! Kazen here, this is my first fic ever, so please be nice. I got this idea while reading a bunch of other fanfics, and I figured I might as well go with it and see where I ended up. At the moment I don't have a lot planned for the story, besides following certain instances from the game (though I do reserve the right to break off and make whatever happen that pops into my head :)

Personally I'm not very confident in my writing, so please read and review. Everything is appreciated as long as it's not pointless flaming. If you have any ideas, for additional OCs (currently I only have one planned, maybe two if this goes long enough), for happenings in the story, or how I can make something more clear, please don't hesitate to say so. Compliments are welcome and always appreciated.

:The Ice and the Mage:

Myrche clutched his weapon tightly, doing his best to not drop it.

His breath came with difficulty. He knew he didn't have much stamina or "health" left.

He looked across the field. Ritz, Shara, and the rest of his clan were little better off. Montblanc and was on the ground, panting from exaustion, no longer able to flap his little bat-like wings.

The battle so far had been long and hard. Montblanc had seen the green sparkles over the trees, signalling a call for help. Everyone else in the clan had been busy with dispatch missions, so the two of them had rushed off as fast as they could.

He had been shocked to see Ritz there. Apparently she and Shara had been ambushed by a group of monsters, the most prominent being the two zombies who wouldn't stay dead and, much to their surprise, a moogle juggler.

As bad off as they were, the other group was in even worse shape.

The juggler and the two zombies were the only ones left. The moogle was panting for breath, barely able to stand. The zombies were little better off, but were proving incredibly difficult. Between Drain Touch and their innate ability to resurrect themselves after a while. they were proving almost impossible to kill.

Myrche gritted his teeth and rose to a fighting position. The biggest difficulty was that they needed both of the undead to be dead, as well as the moogle, before they could win, but the zombies were proving to be incredibly cunning. When one of them was about to bite the dust, the other would run away, making them chase after it and giving it's partner the time it needed to revive. Myrche cursed himself for not bringing an archer to backup Shara, who was struggling to fight the rage that the juggler's Firebomb had induced.

Unless they could find a way to take them all out at once, Myrche was afraid they would lose.

As if on cue, suddenly the wind stilled and the air turned frigid. Myrche blinked in surprise as what he recognized as an Illusionist's Freezeblink settled across the field. Ritz jumped in surprise as Montblanc fell unconscious as the icy spell took it's toll. She braced herself, knowing the pain that was about to come, but lost her concentration as she saw the juggler fall next. The spell was not affecting one side or the other, it was striking everyone on the field!

She fell to one knee as pain lanced across her chilled body. _How could this be happening?_ she wondered. _Neither side has an Illusionist. Even if there was one nearby, the rules of engagement ensure no one can interfere in another's battle._

She endured the cold until she thought she'd freeze, but just as quickly as it appeared, the spell dissipated and the weather returned to normal.

The judge looked around in mild surprise. He wasn't sure what had happened, but the moogle and the two zombies had both been KOed. Normally he would have investigated, but since both sides had been hit, it didn't count as cheating. He sighed, knowing the moogle was bound to complain, but made his decision. "Victory, clan Nutzy and it's allies." Since he had no idea who had delt the final blows, he held up his hands and three clusters of stars appeared, granting Ritz, Shara and Myrche, the only combatants still conscious, one judgepoint each.

He held his hands in the air a second time and cast the spell that would heal all injuries inflicted in the battle, but it was a slow process, normally taking a day to fully take effect. His duties done, he vanished.

Myrche dragged himself over to the two girls. "What happened? Did someone in your clan show up and help out?"

Ritz shook her head, too confused and weak to work up the energy to be snide, "You forget, my clan is all Viera. Viera can't cast illusion magic.

Myrche nodded and opened his mouth, when he was interrupted.

"Take that you freak!"

The three victors jumped as a harsh voice could be heard over the hill nearby.

They looked at each other, then by unspoken agreement headed up the hill to investigate.

They saw a small clearing littered with flickering flames that were floating in midair, the remnants of recently beaten bombs.

Across the way, they saw a Viera, her ears pointing defiantly at the sky, clad in a simple ice tunic and face to face with the sole surviving bomb. It didn't look happy.

"Come on you little wimp! It's just you and me now, none of your little friends to back you up! Hit me, I dare you!" She spread her arms wide, enticing him to strike. "I'm even wearing a nice little ice robe so it will hurt more, now do your worst!"

"If you want it so bad," the bomb replied in a voice that sounded more like a growl. "Then I'll grant your wish and bring you with me to the next life!"

Myrche was confused, until he looked around and realized with a shock, "There's no judge!"

"What?" Ritz and even the normally quiet Shara's jaws dropped as they looked around to verify what they'd just heard.

"Do your worst!" The Viera shouted, her voice sounding oddly low for her race.

Myrche realized what was about to happen seconds before it did, "Look out!!" He shouted, dragging Shara and Ritz to the ground.

The bomb smiled evilly, put it's arms on the girl's shoulders, pressed it's body against hers... and blew up.

Everyone held on tight to each other as the massive explosion threatened to fling them backwards. Ritz was worried. Few people could survive such a powerful attack.

When the smoke cleared, the Viera was standing there, covered in burns and tottering on her feet. "Finally, it took twenty of you before you finally got the guts to use that spell. Now I can eat tonight." Her robe smoking, she fell flat on her face.

"We've got to help her, without a judge, she could die!" Myrche jumped up and ran towards the fallen girl.

Ritz was just a moment behind him, concentrating even as she ran.

By the time she got there, her spell was complete, "Cura", she whispered, thankful she had bothered to learn the spell.

The holy energy floated from her hands and began to knit together the girls charred skin and numerous bruises.

Even after she had been healed, she didn't look very good. Her robe was shredded. The upper back was almost completely gone, two giant holes revealed much of the skin on her back.

"Will she be all right?", Myrche asked, himself unable to cast healing spells.

"I think so," Ritz followed Cura up with Regen, to help the other injuries heal faster.

"What job is she?" Shara asked.

For the first time, they looked at her gear. The Thor staff in her hand meant she was probably a mage, either a Summoner learning Ramuh, or a White Mage who was learning protect.

The blizzard robe she was wearing seemed to back up the idea, however she was also wearing a head band, something few mages would wear, as it did little to boost their stats.

They looked at eachother, unsure what to do with the unconscious girl, until they heard a voice.

"Where is everyone, kupo?" The tel tale voice of Montblanc could be heard over the hill.

"Over here," Shara shouted back.

A few moments later, Montblanc mounted the top of the hill and looked around, surprised. "Did you all go bomb hunting without me, kupo?"

Myrche shook his head, "No, this girl did. It seems like she fought them all, just so they would self-destruct on her, and she did it without a judge."

Montblanc came over and surveyed the girl with interest. "I've never seen someone crazy enough to take on a hoard of bombs without a judge nearby. What should we do with her?"

"We can't leave her here. Should we take her with us?"

"Looks like it's our only option," Ritz rearranged the girl's robe to ensure nothing would be revealed, gently picked her up and handed her to Marche. She gave him a piercing look, "If you do anything to that girl, I'll kill you."

Marche looked at her in shock, "You know I would never do something like that!" He shouted in defiance.

"I know. I just thought I'd give you a warning anyhow," She smiled evilly, turned and started walking towards Cyril, which wasn't far off, Shara right behind her.

Myrche sighed as Montblanc chuckled and followed the girls. Ritz was always making fun of him. Though he couldn't deny, as he looked at the girl in his arms, there was something different about her.

:

Well? How did I do? I hope you liked it, as I said earlier, advice is always welcome, I'm very new at this.

Please, if you think the story is good enough to read the whole thing, please take the time to leave a comment and tell me what you think.

if you have any questions, feel free to ask them and I'll try to answer them in another chapter

the writer

DNA


	2. The Revelation: She's not alone

Well, it's me again, I decided, since i was on a roll, I might as well write as much as I could in one sitting.

As always, compliments and advice are always welcome, criticism... not so much, but I know I can't stop you from typing it. If you think it's worth typing, please make it worth reading and actually make a point.

Since I'm typing this before I've posted my first chapter... I don't have much else to say... well then, on with the story!

:The Revelation: She's not Alone:

The bed was warm.

The sheets were soft.

The air was cool.

The room was dark.

She was not where she should be.

A sound...

The door opening.

A voice.

Someone was peeking in to see if she had awoken yet.

Was it one of the little creatures with demon wings and black puffs?

What did they want her to do now?

Hadn't she done enough for one day?

The Viera kept her eyes lidded, just opening them a fraction to take in her surroundings.

She didn't understand where she was.

She remembered her last task, getting a bomb to use Blowup.

She had spent most of the day killing them, yet each one refused to use their last ditch move.

In desperation, she had made herself as vulnerable as possible, ensuring the spell would do as much damage as it could.

She remembered taunting the final bomb with everything she had, remembered the deafening explosion and the searing heat.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the door opened a little wider and a girl with red hair walked into the room.

"Are you awake?" Her voice asked. There was something strange about the voice.

She didn't recognize it.

She had been **there** long enough to know everyone by the sound of their voices, but this voice was new, full of energy, yet concerned.

Anywhere had to be better than **there**.

She opened her eyes a bit more and sat up a little. "Who are you?"

Ritz jumped as the mysterious girl spoke. Something about her voice was odd.

"My name is Ritz. How are you feeling?"

"I am fine," The girl responded, sitting up a bit more and gasping in pain.

"No you're not!" Ritz quickly stepped over to the bed.

The girl reacted like Ritz had tried to stab her.

Reaching under her shirt, she grasped a pendant and pulled it out, obviously intending to defend herself.

"Easy, easy!" Ritz wasn't sure what the pendant was, but she didn't want to get into a fight with someone she was trying to help. "What's your problem?"

"My injury is nothing to worry about," just remaining upright caused the girl to spasm in pain.

"What are you talking about?" Ritz tried to step closer, but the girl tensed up again, holding the pendant infront of her like a shield, then spasmed a third time.

"I said it's nothing."

"Listen. I don't know what you're playing at, but you're badly wounded. Apparently my Cura wasn't enough yesterday, so please let me help you.

The girl shook her head defiantly and Ritz growled with frustration. "Look, apparently you don't want my help, but can you at least tell me your name?"

For a moment, Ritz didn't think the girl was going to answer, she turned and headed towards the door, when the Viera finally spoke, "Haku... I think my name is Haku."

"Well at least... Wait a minute, you think? What do you mean you think? Don't you know your own name?"

"I remember little before I came here."

"What do you mean, 'came here'?"

"Since I came to this world."

"WHAT?" Ritz yelled.

-- --

"WHAT?" Myrche yelled, causing everyone in the pup to stare at him. He apologized for disturbing everyone and sat back down, unable to believe what he'd just heard.

"That's what I said," Ritz had a grim look on her face. "She wouldn't give me any details, but apparently she is from the same world we are."

"What was she doing with all those bombs?"

"She won't tell me. She's hardly said a word since she told me where she was from. She won't even let me heal her wound."

Myrche sighed. "Maybe I should try to talk to her, she might say something else."

"Why not? Can't hurt to try. Bring her some food though. Call it a hunch, but I don't think she's eaten in a while."

He got up from the table, grabbed a plate of food, and walked to the back of the pub, where the pubmaster had kindly permitted the girl to stay until she was feeling better.

He found the door he was looking for and knocked twice. "Miss Haku, are you awake?"

Silence, then... "Who are you?"

"My name is Myrche. May I come in?"

"Alright."

He opened the door slowly and saw the girl propped against the headboard of her bed. The same blue crystal pendant Ritz had seen held before her like a shield.

"Are you hungry? I brought you some food. If you're not going to accept treatment, the least you can do is eat."

"What do I have to do?"

"What do you mean?" Myrche was confused, he didn't think he'd asked her to do anything.

"What do I have to do for the food?"

"Nothing, I just want you to get better," he held the plate out to her, but quickly snatched it back as she lunged forward and swiped at it.

"Poison!" the girl hissed as she winced in pain and backed as far away from him as she could, which wasn't far, as she still couldn't leave the bed.

"What are you talking about? There's no poison in this food."

"No meal is free in this world unless there's something in it. What is it this time? More toxins? Dream drugs? Or is it more 'enhancers' as your friends call them?

Myrche stared at her blankly, he couldn't begin to fathom what could have happened to her to make her like this.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"That's what _he_ said last time."

Myrche opened his mouth to ask who "he" was, but thought better of it. "Is there any way I can convince you to eat this food?"

"No," the girl replied shortly.

He sighed and sat down on the floor, slowly placing the food within arms reach from the bed, in case she changed her mind. "If your not going to eat, are you willing to talk?"

"What is there to talk about?"

"Where do you come from?"

"I've already answered this question a million times, I'm from a world where this is all just a game, an illusion. Nothing here really exists."

Myrche was almost certain this girl was from Earth, but he had to make sure. "What can you tell me about that world?"

"Nothing I haven't already said. I can barely remember anymore. I can barely remember my name, not that it's been of much use to me. I can't remember my mother, father, or even my best friend," a tear crept into her eye as she mentioned her friend.

"Would it help if I talked about it?" Myrche asked tentatively.

"What would you know?" The girl spat. "If you think you know about my world, fine, enlighten me. I don't even remember anymore, but since you seem to know, tell me what kinds of food there is in my world."

Myrche didn't know why, but he smiled to himself and said two words, "Pizza and McDonalds."

Everything flipped upside down as the girl shot from the bed and tackled him to the ground. "What is that world called?" she demanded in shock as she pinned his arms to the ground with her knees, leaving her arms free to strike him if necessary.

Once again Myrche smiled to himself and replied simply, "Earth."

Tears poured from the girls eyes, she couldn't believe it.

She collapsed against him, sobbing. "Finally, finally... Someone found me."

:

Well there you have it, chapter 2 done, and all in one night too.

I know not a lot happened in this chapter. I'll admit it was a lot of talking, but I'm really trying to put emphasis on how this girl was treated so badly, that all of these reactions are instincts she developed during what happened to her.

Once again I ask that if you thought the story was good enough to read all the way to the bottom, Isn't it good enough for you to leave a comment on?

As always, compliments and advice are always welcome, I can't control criticism, but please make sure it has a point!

the writer

DNA


	3. Hidden Fears

Hey, it's me again, I decided to sit down and start on chapter three instead of working on schoolwork. Before I talk about the story, I have one thing to say, if you actually read either of the first two chapters...

PLEASE WRITE A REVIEW!!

Please, this isn't youtube, without reviews I don't even have proof that people are reading my story, much less what they think about it. So even if it's just to say you liked or didn't like it, PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO WRITE SOMETHING!!

OK, now that I got that out of my system, on to the story!

-:Hidden Fears:-

"What is going on here?" Ritz demanded as she opened the door and saw Haku laying on top of Myrche.

Haku didn't respond and kept sobbing, "Finally, finally"

"Ritz, it's true. She is from Earth," Myrche said as his neck quickly became soaked from the girl's tears.

"For a while I hoped some one else was here, but as the months went by, I thought I was the only one who had been transported into this hell," The girl collapsed into sobs again.

Ritz opened her mouth to say something snide to Myrche, but changed her mind when she thought of how she'd react to being alone in this world for months.

"How is she doing? Kupo!" Montblanc peaked in, floating high enough to see over Ritz's shoulder.

The girl froze for a second, then seemed to explode.

Grabbing the pendant from her neck, she quickly chanted a strange sounding spell, which caused the mysterious item to shine brightly. The room was silent as her back slowly hunched over and a dagger seemed to materialize in her hand . She took three quick steps and, before anyone could react, stabbed Montblanc.

Doink

Montblanc dropped like a stone, hitting the floor painfully hard. He gasped and clutched the place where she had stabbed him with one hand and held his other hand over his head in a futile attempt to stop her next attack. Right before her knife hit him a second time, Myrche, having recovered from his initial shock at her actions, grabbed her around the stomach and pulled her back.

"What are you doing?" Ritz gasped as she quickly imposed herself between the Viera and Moogle.

The girl didn't answer, she seemed to be in a blind fury as she tried to stab Montblanc.

Myrche didn't want to hurt her, so he gently hoisted her into the air and brought her back to the bed, surprised at how light she was. He held her down as she continued to try and attack the poor moogle. Myrche turned to Ritz. "Can you do something?"

Ritz thought for a moment. "Sleep," She breathed softly.

The girl fought for a moment more, but succumbed to the spell. Her back straightening and the knife falling from her hand as she relaxed.

"What happened here?" Ryan, the pub master, peeked in the door, a worried tone in his voice.

"I'm not sure. The moment she saw Montblanc, this girl went crazy," Myrche checked her over and made sure she was still OK.

"What did I ever do to her? Kupo," Even Montblanc's customary 'Kupo' was weak and devoid of spirit. "What is that necklace? I don't think I've ever been hit that hard in my life.

Ryan thought a moment as he peered intently at the item, which was slowly fading back to it's previous state. "That could be a soul."

"You mean a Morpher's soul? But which monster could possibly do that much damage in a single strike?"

"Myrche, if I'm not mistaken, you have trained as a thief, I believe. Can you please identify this dagger for me?"

Myrche stared intently at the knife for a while, "I think it's a tonberrian knife. It's fairly hard to come by because they are actually taken from a tonberry..." The realization hit him. "And Tonberries have an attack that will drop you to within an inch of your life..."

"That's what I thought, but then the question is, how can this girl morph? Last I checked, only Nu Mou can become Morphers, and even then, no one has managed to capture a Tonberry to remove it's soul."

"We've got to take that necklace from her before we do anything else," Ritz cut in on their musings. "It's too dangerous. She could have killed Montblanc."

"I suppose it would be the safest course of action," Ryan reached over the girl, but just as he was about to touch the stone, or soul, her hand whipped around and gripped his arm like a vice.

Everyone jumped, afraid she had woken up, but, even as she began to crush Ryan's arm, she was still sleeping.

As Ritz carefully extricated Ryan's arm from the girl's death grip, she shook her head sadly, "What on Earth or in Ivalice could make her like this?"

--

Once again the room was dark, but this time she was not alone.

The girl looked around without moving, keeping her eyes lidded as much as possible.

She couldn't see the person without opening her eyes too far, but she could hear his breathing. It was shallow and uneven. She could tell he wasn't asleep.

Who could it be? Was it another one of the creatures with demon wings?

No, she was panicking, she needed to think clearly.

Those creatures were small and had tiny lungs.

This person's breath was longer than they could breathe.

Then she remembered.

She bolted upright, shocking Myrche who was sitting in the corner, waiting for Ritz's spell to wear off.

"Are you alright?" He asked, stepping closer as she gasped in pain, but quickly backing away as she held her necklace before her once again.

"I'm fine," She gasped in pain. "Where is the evil one."

"Evil one? You mean Montblanc? He's not evil. He's just a Moogle."

The girl's eyes flashed. "That's what they were, Moogles."

"I don't know what you have against Moogles, but Montblanc promised he would stay away from you until this whole thing is resolved."

The girl sighed with relief, and visibly relaxed, she turned towards Myrche, seeing him for the first time, and smiled. "You are the one who is from Earth. You found me."

Myrche wasn't sure what she meant, but he was pretty sure that meant she trusted him, or at least wasn't likely to attack him. "Are you hungry?"

The girl froze, not sure what to say. This boy had proved he was from her world, but her months of experience were still fresh in her mind.

Myrche suddenly got an idea, "And there is something I'd like you to do for me."

The girl both tensed and relaxed a bit. "What do you want? I have no money, and can't perform any services for you."

"What I'd like is information. If you can please tell me about yourself, about what happened to you, you can have all the food you want."

The girl thought for a moment. "And there's nothing in the food, nothing you wouldn't eat yourself?"

"I swear it," Myrche smiled as the girl brightened significantly. "And would you please allow yourself to be treated?"

"I'm fine," The girl flinched again as the wound in her stomach pained her.

"No you're not. Please let us help you."

"I can take care of myself," she replied defiantly.

"Listen," Myrche sighed. "I don't know what you've been through, but you aren't alone anymore. Please let us help you."

"What I've been through... Is hell," The girl whispered softly. "I thank you for your help, but please, I must tend to this myself."

"Then please do. I can't stand to sit here and see you suffer."

The girl hesitated for a moment, then gently grasped her pendant, kissed it softly and whispered something Myrche didn't catch. He backed up a little, in case she suddenly attacked him, but she quickly cast a spell on herself and released the transformation before the physical effects could appear.

A gentle whistling sound could be heard as a strange, unearthly wind blew in through the window and encircled the room. Myrche suddenly felt better, and Haku noticeably relaxed.

"Are you satisfied?" The girl asked, her voice suddenly quieter. Marche liked the change. Her previous voice had sounded gruff and coarse. Now it sounded gentle and sweet.

"What did you do?"

"White Wind," She replied, smiling to herself.

"You can morph into a fairy too?" Myrche asked.

The girl nodded. "May I please have my food now?"

Myrche laughed and went to get her a plate, then another, then another.

--

"How much has that girl eaten?" Ritz asked, staring as Myrche left the room, carrying another empty plate and quickly ran to reload it.

"I lost count after seven plates," Myrche responded.

"There is such a thing as too much."

"I'm not sure. I don't think she's eaten anything in a long while."

"But seven plates?"

Myrche shrugged and quickly went back to the room.

"How long has it been since you've eaten?" He asked as the girl quickly began inhaling the food from the plate he was holding.

"I don't know. You lose track of time when you can't see the sky. I was looking forward to finally eating after I got Blowup, but you guys found me. I probably wouldn't even have gotten my food because of how weak I was."

"Weak? How can you call that weak? You took on over twenty bombs without a judge, and survived Blowup in the end. How can anyone call that weak?"

"I wasn't able to walk away from the battle. I fainted. To them that means I'm weak," the girl spoke between bites of her chocobo drumstick. "What's a judge anyway?"

Myrche stared at her, dumbfounded. "You've never fought with a judge before?"

"I was just told to avoid them, whatever they are."

Myrche sighed, still astonished. "A judge is a referee. He insures no one uses lethal force in an engagement. That way people can fight, but no one can die."

The girl stared at him, looking quite funny with a large chunk of meat hanging halfway out of her mouth. "I didn't know."

"How can you not know about the judges? What happened to you when you got here?"

"I discovered what Hell was like," The girl's sweet voice turned sorrowful.

Myrche thought for a moment, then went to the door. "Ritz, can you come over here?" He called.

As the red head entered the room, Haku squeaked and hid behind Myrche.

This sudden change in demeanor shocked Myrche and Ritz.

"It's alright. Ritz isn't going to hurt you. She's from Earth too.

Haku reluctantly let go of Myrche's arm and sat back down on the bed. She nodded nervously to Ritz as the other girl pulled up a chair.

"What did you want me for?" Ritz asked.

Myrche turned to Haku. "Can you please tell us what happened to you when you came to this world? We want to help you, but we can't until we know the whole story.

--

Well there you have it. Hope you liked this chapter. The next one will be all about what happened to Haku between appearing in Ivalice and when the others found her.

As always PLEASE REVIEW!!

Thank you for reading.

The writer,

DNA


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